While in Japan, I picked up some Japanese books about physical performance. People involved in martial arts, dance, music, traditional performing arts, medicine and sports provide various inputs from their own viewpoints about physical performance. Interestingly enough, sometimes they are saying the same thing.
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One of the books was "Joy of dancing" by Mitsugoro Bando X (十代目坂東三津五郎).
Mitsugoro Bando X was a Kabuki actor and the chief of Bando school of Nihon Buyo (Japanese traditional performing arts). He died of pancreatic cancer on 2/21/2015.
Nihon Buyo is a mixture of dance, acting and pantomime, presenting traditional stories on stage. The tradition was maintained by a few families and schools dedicated to the art.
Some examples of Kabuki can be seen on YouTube, like this.
"Kabuki Cool" 01 (Kabuki explained in English)
[I found this "Kabuki Cool" series very beginner (including myself) friendly. Fully recommended]
Right. It's not Michael Jackson, not Ballet, not ballroom dance, not Broadway musical. It may look very strange and exotic. Maybe it's most similar to Opera (minus singer's domination) to contemporary audiences.
I picked up this book as a part of my research for stage arts. As Mitsugoro X was known to be a master dancer, this book had unique insights on dance on stage and body usage.
For example,
"The most important thing for professional dancer is to acquire good form through repetition".
"You have to know 'good form' to achieve the good form."
"Stand firm on the ground, have stable center, and relax upper body."
"Beginning of a dance is tricky; you aim at a perfect start and try to do too much, and end up with disappointment that can linger to later. Instead, only aim at giving an impression to your audience at the start. Then let your dance unfold."
"Build a body that follows your order. To order your body well, know good form."
"70% of your audience are looking at your face. If your face and sight look shaky, the dance won't look good. Good dancers have precise movement in the face."
"To have stable face, your lower body has to work hard."
"Use your toe to grip the floor."
--> This is probably referring to the same notion as the "3-toe base" some swing dancers are talking about.
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In many points, good performers' body usage converge. If you are a dancer, you should be able to relate to many of his statements.
